Thursday, January 15, 2009

New "to us" Van!

No more Green Van!

The Lord has blessed us with a new"to us" van that comes with no loan!

We knew that our van had issues that needed to be fixed before our long tripthat is coming up next month. So we wereperplexed about whether we wanted to spendthe money to fix it or see if all of the talk about this being the time to buy a carwas true or not.

We have had green vans since the kids were small. Not a big deal...the color doesn'tmatter, right? Well....

Last Saturday we made a trek about 40 minutesfrom home to a dealership to check out somethings that Warren had spotted on Vehix.com.As we got to looking there was a nice one with DVD player...important to Chelsea...that hada smaller price tag than the rest. We asked to drive it. The salesman backed it out of thespot...at this point I said to Warren..."It is sogreen, I don't think I can do that. Please tellhim we might as well not bother."

Can you believe it?

I can't believe I did that either. But Warren told him we just could not buy another green van. He put it back.Then we test drove a cherry red van.

Here's the story though...It drove justlike a green van! From the inside itfelt just like it! I was so disappointed.I was so sure that a red van of a 2008 vintagewould feel different somehow....

We left without making a purchase.

This week there was more research and morediscussion. I was tempted to push to justkeep the old van and put the money into itto make it dependable. Warren was pretty surehe did not want to do this.

He decided that there was a dollar amount thathe would spend in cash and with our trade in...no more...to see how much vehicle we could get for that money. No loan...Newer car!

We had owned a Mazda MPV many years before. It wasour favorite family vehicle ever. So I started to search. We found two within driving distance that wereabout $2,500 to $3,000 over our pre-determined amount.

I called.

I explained what we were willing to spend, what we had totrade. That what we had to spend was cash and that we would not be financing any of it. Warren was a big help here becausewhen one of them started trying to tell me how it would be justa tiny payment he said, "No loan!" and walked out of the room.This allowed me to say that my husband had just said no and meantit.

This salesperson immediately agreed to talk to his manager and get back with me.

He did...and he did!

Last night we went to this dealership.

Drove the van.

Debated a while.

Purchased the 2003 Mazda MPV for $5,000 plus tax andtags. It has a warrantee and road service/tirereplacement package included.

If you are in the market for a vehicleI can recommend looking now.

We were told that if a car has been on the lot for more than 60 days...it has to go.

You can really make a deal on these vehicles.

I am thankful for my husband's leadership in thiscar purchase. I am also thankful for God's provisionfor our family in this way.

12 comments:

Congrats! "New to us" cars are so much fun! We have always gone the "used" route and feel so much better about the financial choice. Have fun driving it... too bad the roads may not be cooperating today. We are on a 2 hour delay! Judy

We have no/zero/zip/nada vehicle loans. What a blessing to not be burdened - let me tell ya!

Hubby's Jeep is an '89 with 314,000 miles on it and it's in need of some work. um. engine overhall. the works. we're saving up. He drives my vehicle a couple days a week to give the Jeep a break and make it last longer.

Oh. Our vehicles are always white. Always. Hubby's desire that has become mine as well. :o)

Wow! You got a great price on your van. I bought my car the same way except I emailed the dealer, told him what I had to spend and the car I liked. I just went in and test drove it and walked away with the car I wanted at the price I predetermined. It was the easiest car purchase ever and I usually hate, hate buying cars!

My Church Web Site

Who's Here?

My Chelsea Blogs

Disclaimer

All advice, percieved or blatant, comes from me, personally as a friend, should not be construed to represent any company that I work for or with.I am simply offering observations from life and experience. This is my personal blog and not intended for business purposes.